Choppy week ahead for Thai stocks

The Stock Exchange of Thailand fell more than expected this week and has slipped beyond our support range. The surprisingly weak performance reflected rapid rises in US bond yields following the US Federal Reserve’s aggressive 75-basis-point interest rate increase.

The US benchmark is now between 1.5% and 1.75%, and the latest so-called “dot plot” of forward guidance by policymakers puts the year-end rate at 3.4%.

Despite a brief rebound after the announcement of the Fed decision, the SET and other bourses quickly resumed their downtrend on mounting worries about a steep rise in financial costs amid fragile global economic conditions.

Losses locally were led by energy and commodity plays — the most vulnerable and sensitive to interest rates and economic conditions.

We anticipate a further stock correction in the coming week. Given the downside for commodity and…